Cellular wireless is an increasingly popular means of personal communication in the modern world. People are using cellular wireless networks for the exchange of voice and data over cellular telephones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cellular telephone modems, and other devices. In principle, a user can seek information over the Internet or call anyone over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) from any place inside the coverage area of the cellular wireless network.
The widespread use of cell phones, and other mobile stations, however, can create havoc on the cellular wireless network if their use is unmonitored. As such, cell phone usage, and other mobile station usage, has been limited in some situations. For example, cellular phone use on an airplane is limited because it can interfere with the cellular telephone network. From an airplane a cell phone can connect to nearly any cell in view below, causing much turmoil, especially with a jet traveling 500 miles an hour, passing by one cell after another far more quickly than the networks were designed to handle. A cell phone could possibly register with 30–50 base stations at once since the airplane travels so fast, which exhausts processing power and interferes with ground-based transmissions. Since there are thousands of passengers every day, likely cell phone usage by these passengers would thus bog down the network, resulting in numerous busy signals. In addition, use of cellular phones in an airplane may interfere with the sensitive aircraft instruments and with wireless communications to and from airplanes.
Furthermore, use of cell phones in certain areas can be undesirable for any number of other reasons. For example, use of cell phones within hospitals can cause undesirable interference with sensitive equipment. Consequently, for many reasons, it would be desirable to limit cell phone use, and other mobile station use, under certain circumstances.